Hello Future Sociologists! Understanding Social Control

Welcome to the fascinating world of Social Control! If our previous chapter showed us how society shapes us (socialisation), this chapter shows us how society *keeps* us in line. Don't worry if this seems tricky at first—we're going to break down complex ideas like police, punishment, and even subtle social rules into easy, manageable steps.

Understanding social control is crucial because it explains how order is maintained, why deviance occurs, and how power is exercised in every society, from your family dinner table to international courts. Let's get started!

1. Defining Social Control and Sanctions

Social control refers to the methods and strategies used by society to encourage conformity and prevent or punish non-conformity (deviance). Essentially, it's how society manages behaviour to ensure stability.

1.1 Formal vs. Informal Social Control

Sociologists divide control mechanisms into two main categories based on who enforces them and how strict they are.

1. Formal Social Control

  • Definition: Control enforced by specific, identifiable organisations, usually associated with the government, laws, and official rules.
  • Key Features: Written rules, official bodies, highly structured punishments.
  • Agencies: Government, police, courts, military, schools (expulsion).
  • Example: Being arrested by the police for theft, or receiving a fine from a traffic warden.

2. Informal Social Control

  • Definition: Control enforced by ordinary people during everyday social interactions, often based on unwritten rules (norms).
  • Key Features: Unofficial, often subtle, based on approval or disapproval.
  • Agencies: Family, peers, religion, media, workplace, local community.
  • Example: Your family giving you a disappointed look, or your friends laughing at you for wearing the wrong clothes.

1.2 Sanctions: The Tools of Control

A sanction is any mechanism of control—a reaction to a person's behaviour aimed at enforcing a norm. Sanctions can be positive (rewards) or negative (punishments), and they apply to both formal and informal control.

  • Positive Sanctions: Rewards for conforming to social norms.
    • Informal Example: Getting a compliment from a teacher, receiving applause from a crowd.
    • Formal Example: Receiving a medal for bravery, getting a promotion at work.
  • Negative Sanctions: Punishments for deviance or non-conformity.
    • Informal Example: Being gossiped about, being ostracised by a peer group.
    • Formal Example: Imprisonment, paying a speeding ticket, being excluded from school.

Quick Review: Social control uses sanctions to encourage conformity. Think of a school: Formal control is the detention system (negative sanction); Informal control is the praise you get from peers for scoring well in sports (positive sanction).

2. Consensus and Conflict Views of Social Control

Why does society need control? Sociologists offer two very different answers, leading to the consensus and conflict views.

2.1 The Consensus View (Functionalism)

The consensus view (most often associated with Functionalism) argues that social control is necessary and beneficial for everyone.

  • Key Idea: Society is based on shared norms and values (consensus). Social control ensures that the rules are followed so society can function smoothly and peacefully.
  • Function: Control maintains social order and protects all citizens.
  • Analogy: A football referee enforces rules that all players agree upon, making the game fair and stable for everyone.

2.2 The Conflict View (Marxism and Feminism)

Conflict theories (like Marxism and Feminism) argue that social control primarily benefits powerful groups and maintains inequality.

  • Key Idea: Society is based on fundamental inequalities (class, gender, ethnicity). Social control mechanisms, especially formal ones, are designed to protect the interests of the powerful (e.g., the bourgeoisie, men).
  • Function: Control suppresses the powerless, ensuring they do not challenge the existing hierarchy.
  • Example: Laws punishing property crime severely, which protects the wealth of the rich, while corporate crime (crime committed by companies) is often policed less harshly.

Did you know? Even the police, an agency of formal control, can operate informally. A police officer choosing to give a verbal warning rather than a ticket is exercising discretion (informal control) within a formal system.

3. Stigmatised Identities and Othering

Social control doesn't just stop people from breaking rules; it also shapes how we see and treat those who are different or deviant.

3.1 Stigmatised Identities (Goffman)

The sociologist Erving Goffman (whose work is relevant here) discussed stigma.

  • Definition: A powerful, negative label that changes a person's self-concept and social identity. It disqualifies a person from full social acceptance.
  • Example: Someone who has served time in prison may carry the stigma of "ex-con," making it difficult for them to find a job or form relationships, even after they have reformed.

3.2 Othering

Othering is the process by which a dominant group defines another group as fundamentally different and often inferior or threatening.

  • Process: It creates a rigid division between the "us" (the normal, moral, conforming group) and the "them" (the deviant, different, or marginalised group).
  • Effect on Control: Once a group is 'Othered' (e.g., specific ethnic groups, subcultures), they are more likely to be subjected to greater surveillance and stricter social control.

Memory Aid: Stigma sticks (like a label); Othering separates (Us vs. Them).

4. Aims and Types of Punishment

The formal criminal justice system uses punishment as a key mechanism of social control. The rationale behind punishment is complex and usually falls into four aims:

1. Deterrence

  • Specific Deterrence: Punishing an individual to prevent *them* from reoffending.
  • General Deterrence: Punishing an individual to discourage *others* from committing the same crime (making an example).

2. Retribution

  • Punishment inflicted simply because the offender deserves it ("eye for an eye"). It satisfies the public's desire for vengeance.

3. Rehabilitation

  • Aiming to reform the offender, so they can return to society as a functioning, conforming member (e.g., education, therapy in prison).

4. Incapacitation

  • Removing the offender from society (usually through imprisonment) to protect the public from further harm.

5. Crime Prevention: Policing and Surveillance

Societies use strategies to prevent crime before it happens, relying heavily on different types of policing and surveillance.

5.1 Types of Policing

  • Community Policing: Focuses on building relationships with local residents to increase trust and information flow. Often informal and proactive.
  • Zero Tolerance Policing: Aggressive enforcement of *all* laws, even minor ones (like vandalism or loitering), believing this prevents serious crime. This is formal and highly visible.

5.2 Surveillance

Surveillance refers to the monitoring of behaviour, activities, or information for the purpose of crime management, direction, or protection.

  • Examples: CCTV cameras, facial recognition software, internet monitoring, or even the tracking apps on your phone.

Sociologists often examine how surveillance affects privacy and civil liberties, and whether it disproportionately targets certain social groups.

6. Marxist Concepts of State Control (Althusser and Gramsci)

The Marxist perspective offers a powerful way to understand how the state (government and official bodies) maintains control. Don't worry if this sounds academic—it's just a way of labelling two different types of control the ruling class uses.

6.1 Repressive State Apparatuses (RSA)

Associated with Louis Althusser, the RSA maintains the rule of the bourgeoisie (ruling class) through the threat or use of force.

  • Goal: Repression (physical control).
  • Agencies: The army, police, courts, prisons.
  • Analogy: If you protest against the government's economic policies, the RSA (police) might arrest you.

6.2 Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA)

Also associated with Althusser, the ISA maintains the rule of the bourgeoisie by controlling people's ideas and beliefs.

  • Goal: Ideological control (control by consent).
  • Agencies: Education system, media, family, religion, political system.
  • Analogy: The school system teaching you to respect authority and arrive on time, preparing you for obedient work in a capitalist economy.

6.3 Hegemony and Interpellation

  • Hegemony (Gramsci): This is the idea that the ruling class maintains control not just by force, but by convincing the subordinate classes that the existing system is natural, normal, and even beneficial for them. This creates control by consent.
  • Interpellation (Althusser): This is the process where ideology "hails" or calls out to individuals, causing them to recognise themselves as subjects within the system. Example: When a policeman shouts "Hey, you!" and you turn around, you are being interpellated—you recognise your subject status relative to the authority figure.

Key Takeaway: Marxists argue that RSA and ISA work together to ensure the working class accepts their position, maintaining capitalist power.

7. Sociological Perspectives on Social Control

Here is how the main sociological perspectives view the role and nature of social control:

7.1 Functionalism

  • View: Control is essential for social integration and stability (consensus).
  • Focus: Informal control (like socialisation) is crucial because it internalises norms, making formal control less necessary. Deviance, when punished, reinforces moral boundaries for the community.

7.2 Marxism

  • View: Control is a tool used by the ruling class to maintain capitalism (conflict).
  • Focus: Formal control (RSA) and ideological control (ISA) are key. The law is not neutral; it protects private property and punishes working-class resistance.

7.3 Feminism

  • View: Social control primarily serves to maintain patriarchy (male dominance) (conflict).
  • Focus: Informal control within the family (like gender roles) restricts women's freedom. The formal criminal justice system often fails women (e.g., poor prosecution rates for male violence against women), reinforcing male power.

7.4 Social Action / Interactionism

  • View: Control is not a fixed structure but a fluid process based on interpretation and labelling.
  • Focus: They are interested in *who* applies the control and how that application affects the individual. Concepts like stigmatised identities and othering are central. They study how agencies like the police or media selectively enforce rules, leading to the creation of deviance (labelling theory).

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Quick Review Box: The Four Views on Control

F: Controls maintain stability and shared values.
M: Controls maintain ruling class power (RSA/ISA).
FEM: Controls maintain patriarchy and gender inequality.
INT: Controls are subjective; they label and create deviance.

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